The Last
by Smego Baggins
Summary: An Aussie kid joins our fave gang, blah, blah, blah just read it.


Disclaimer: Hay, guess what? This is MY first Fanfic and YES my dog and I do star in it.  
Well here we go: I don't own anything but my bedroom my books and my animals and even they are HALF-OWNED  
So, to put it simply, DON'T SUE ME!!!!!!!!!  
  
The Last  
Chapter 1.   
  
My name is Catherine.  
Who am I? Sometimes I wonder. You know the drill.  
I can't tell you my last name or where I live. I'm sorry but that information could get my friends and I killed or worse. So my friends and I don't trust anyone.   
Because if they find us ... well, we just won't let them find us.  
Now I should tell you what I'm talking about.   
Earth as we know it. Is being invaded by intelligent, dangerous and power hungry slugs called yeerks. They have weak, repulsive, little bodies.  
Now that puts an image in the head.   
But what they do is far from funny.  
What they do is slither and slide from the yeerk pool.  
Than they crawl into the ear of the host known as a controller. They push aside the little bones inside the ear, and crawl into the brain.  
Than take total absolute control.  
I didn't even know about all this until that afternoon.  
"Hi, haven't seen you here before,"  
I looked up from my homework that I had been given that day and there was a short, Hispanic, teenager with a permeant bemused smile standing across from the table.  
"Well I've only been in this town for six months and have only been at this school for four hours," I said, smiling back.  
"Well, my name's Marco. What's your's?"  
"My name's Catherine and, you can sit down if you want to no one's bothered to talk to me yet."  
"Why?"  
"Maybe because of my accent. People hink that I have a speech impairment, but I don't I've but have been taking advantage of it though,"  
"So where are you from?"  
"Australia,"  
"Australia. What are you doing in good old America?"  
"Well sit down and I'll tell you,"   
Marco sat down than looked down at his food and wrinkled his nose at it.  
"What?" I asked, than I looked down at what was my 'meal'.  
"Is the food in America usually green and blue that is mixed together?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.  
"In America no, but in this school yes."   
  
"Well, they wouldn't give us anything that could kill us. Right,"  
Marco laughed, but I could see that the laugh didn't go all the way to his eye's.  
"We'll might as well try it,"  
I picked up my fork and took stab at what looked as if it had once been a Cow. A Cow that had been a hippy with blue and green curled hair, before it landed on my plate.   
I put a bit in my mouth. Chewed. Swallowed.  
It tasted like Macaroni.  
"So, tell me, what are you doing in America."   
"Well, my dad is a Biologist, so we have to travel a lot."  
"Meaning?"  
"He studies animals."  
"Great, another tree-hugging-let-animals-vote nut."  
"Thanks. I think."  
So we ate and talked about sports, parents, school, and generally anything and everything under the sun.  
The bell rang and I had English with Marco.   
He was joined by a taller boy with light brown hair and a shorter African-American girl.  
"Hay, you guy's meet Catherine, Catherine meet Jake and Cassie."  
We said hello and shook hands and Cassie than want to sit down.  
But Jake stayed.  
"Hay, Marco don't forget that project and don't try to blow yourself up, Ok." He smiled, but quickly passed Marco a look that said something, but I don't know what, than went to sit down next to Cassie.  
Just than the second bell rang to tell us to get to class.  
And that's how I met the first three Animorphs.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 2.   
  
After school I went home and found mum yelling at my brother and sister to get back inside my dad was at work at The Gardens.  
The Gardens is this totally cool theme park that has a zoo joined on it.  
"Mum, I'm just going the Quarantine place to pick up Max."  
Max was my dog.  
"Ok, see if he doesn't have to stay any longer alright,"   
"Mum, he's been there six months already."  
"Ok bye," she said, waving her hands at me to go.  
I was walking toward the quarantine place which was opposite the forest. I looked up and saw six birds of prey, trying to stay far away from one other but stay close to each other, flying toward to the forest. I just shrugged it off, but the funny thing was they were all, except two, different types.  
Even the animals are crazy here. I thought.  
I picked Max up, who nearly waged himself in half.  
After picking up the dog, I decided to spend some time with him.  
That was a mistake.  
The two of us walked side by side in the woods near the farms just looking around and smelling the fresh pine needles, you know, enjoying the moment.  
All of a sudden I herd a throaty roar.  
To which Max responded by growling, which he never does except when I am in any kind of trouble.   
All the fur along his back was up.  
"C'mon Max lets see what's happening," I said, pulling on Max's lead to make him run with me.  
The closer we went, the louder the sounds became.  
Than I realised they were the sound of wild animals fighting, but there were sounds that I have never heard before.   
My gut told me to get on my stomach and crawl.   
The problem was that Max only knew how to sit and stay even that was tough for him to understand. The one thing I was proud of though was that he was one hell of a guard dog so no one would dare try to touch me.   
I had to make him lie down. But how? Than I knew.  
I held Max's lead tighter and told him to sit than I put  
My hand on his back pushed down on his torso and told him to stay. He did it first time over.  
"Good dog. Now stay ... stay."  
While Max layed there, I crawled to the top of the hill and looked over it.  
What I saw scared me. Really scared me.  
"Oh my, God!" I whispered to myself.  
What I saw was five wild animals locked in battle.   
There was a Wolf and a Grizzly Bear that I expected but there, real, alive, also was a Tiger, a Gorilla and a Red-tailed hawk.  
I saw blood, fighting, animals and ... Aliens?  
Suddenly a seven foot, bladed, alien struck the Gorilla across the back and another struck him in the shoulder.  
He was down and defiantly out.  
Than an alien that looked as if a blue centaur that had a bladed tail, whacked the blade that was attached to the arm, of what I got was a bad guy, leaving just the blade in the Gorilla's shoulder.  
"Die Andalite die!" Shouted the missing bladed alien.  
I think not. He said, in my mind.  
In my mind?  
He than flattened his tail-blade and knocked the shouting alien unconscious.  
I went and sat beside Max and slipped his collar and lead off.   
Max new what to do so he bolted further into the forest to what for me when I came back. If I came back.   
Wanting to go with him I uncertainly turned back and layed back down and from my safe place watched the battle rage on.   
I got up on my knees to get a better look and saw another Bladed alien running toward me looking back I moved my head a little to the left and saw the Tiger chasing him. He jumped over me but the tiger was to far and when he jumped his back legs knocked me into blackness.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 3: Jake.  
  
When the fight was over I looked around.  
So much death, to many scars and a lot of blood.   
Rachel was demorphing and remorphing, just in case a new wave of Hork-Bajir came for another surprise.  
In her previous morph she was missing her front right leg and her left ear.  
Cassie's back left leg had been dislocated and her right and left side had deep gashes.  
Ax had a deep gash across his chest and a missing hand.  
Tobias had lost his right talon and a couple of tail feathers and was winded but was otherwise fine.  
My Tiger morph had it pretty badly but not as bad as the other's.   
My right front paw was broken and my left eye was blinded with blood from my torn ears.  
Marco was the worst of us. He was still in Gorilla morph and unconscious, but what worried me most was the time limit and the deep cut across his back he was bleeding immensely.  
I quickly demorphed and while doing that ran to Marco's side to see if I could get him conscious again.  
But you try to turn over a fourteen hundred pound Gorilla.  
"Guy help. Marco's out of it and I can't turn him over."  
Ok. Rachel to the rescue as usual She said, ambling over.  
With that Rachel and I turned Marco's battered body over.  
His front was worse than his back.  
His face was mattered with blood from his forehead, his right foot was missing and his chest had a big gash.  
I didn't care. That could all be healed when he morphed back, if he morphed back.  
No Jake don't think that he'll be alright he'll be fine.  
Hay. What's that in his shoulder? Rachel said, pointing a bear's paw.   
"I don't know or care what it is at the moment," I snapped.  
Well it's either the tip of Ax-mans tail-blade or it's a Hork-Bejir's blade. Tobias said, Just coming out of his human morph and going to himself again.  
I think I know how to get him back said Rachel.   
I swear she had a bear grin on her face.  
"What do you mean you know how to get him back again." said Cassie, looking at Rachel.  
Well first I slap him on the face with my paws and if that fails that blade gets yanked out.  
"You know he's going to scream if he come's around while you doing that, you know?"  
Who said I was gonna do it. I only have paws, so tough bickies.  
"Than you mean ... me,"  
The one and only.  
"You mean me, as in I have to pull out THAT blade." I said.  
"There's no other way, Jake." said Cassie.   
Well, do you want me to spell it out for you. Y E S yes,  
"Great. Ok. Yeah. Let's do it."  
That is so me. said Rachel, rolling her bear eyes.  
"What do you mean?"   
Never mind.  
So I put my hand on his shoulder and grasped the blade firmly in my other hand and was about to pull it out when Marco decided to come back around to the land of the living.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 4: Marco.  
  
I started to come back to reality. I wish I'd demorphed while I was out.  
The pain was terrible.  
I could here voices but they meant nothing to me at the time.  
Than I understood while Jake, I think, said.  
"This is gonna hurt me more than you, buddy,"  
Than I felt an incredibly sharp pain in my left shoulder.  
AAAArrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh! I screamed.  
Well. That got him up. said Rachel brightly.  
"Marco demorph! you only have fifteen minutes left." said Jake, slapping my face, hard.  
Jeez, I said, groggily, What was that for?  
We'll demorph than go kill Jake he's the one that pulled out the blade. said Rachel.  
"Thanks," He said   
I'll kill you later. Only I have to get out of this monkey suite. I said trying to move my back legs. I couldn't.  
I quickly demorphed and sat and breathed deeply.   
Ok, so maybe I've been watching to much Yoga on the Lifestyle Channel on Cable.   
A bit of advice: Never ever breath deeply in the middle of a battle field covered with blood it just makes you want to throw up.  
Which I did.  
I ran to the bushes and spilled my guts.  
I turned around and saw Rachel looking at me she was smiling while demorphing.   
Now, us Animorphs have learned how to control our demorphing and morphing phases.  
So she was making it, deliberately, disgusting.  
That didn't help at all I turned around and started to throw up again.  
Don't you like my demorphing, Marco? she said, faking sweetness.  
I held up my right middle finger for her to see.  
Than, with my hand against a tree, I turned my head left and stopped breathing, a meter away was a girl of about my age was unconscious lying on her back.   
"Guy's we have a problem." I said.  
"What do you mean?" said Rachel, fully formed.  
"I mean someone has seen us," I said.  
All of them came over real fast to see.  
"Oh, no," Jake said, looking down and closing his eyes, "I thought she was a Controller and when I was chasing a Hork-Bejir I jumped fare away so as to knock her out with my back paws."  
So what do we do with her? said Tobias from somewhere above us.  
"What do you mean?" I said, knowing the answer.  
Well, I think her parents will kind of notice if she goes missing for three days. he replied.  
"We could use the shack that we used for when Jake was a controller," said Rachel.  
Nah, it was burned to the ground a few weeks ago.  
"The Barn, I mean we could get The Chee to cover for her and get Erek to make a hologram covering her from sight."  
"Marco you know that they are programmed for non-violence," said Jake.  
"Well, we could just keep her at Erek's house where no one can see her."   
"Hopefully The Chee won't hold that as a code of conduct."  
"Not if she is not tied up." I said, walking over to pick her up.  
I leaned down and placed a hand on her arm and all of a sudden was being  
attacked by this, small, white, mad dog intent on ripping my arm off.  
I threw the dog down and ran with Rachel laughing hard  
and saying:  
"Marco do you relies your running away from a Fox Terrier?"  
"No I did not know that but that 'Fox Terrier' is going to rip my butt off if it get's hold of it." I said running from the crazed animal and heading for Cassie's back.  
Then the dog stoped having decided it had chased me  
far enough than went to sit next to the girl.  
Cassie slowly walked toward it and started to talk to it in a soft talking to dangerous animal's tone.  
"Hay what's the matter? Did you get lost? Do you want to go for a walk?" she said, holding her hand out for the dog.   
One of Rachel's eyebrows went up at the last question.  
"Well, whenever I went trailriding at my grandparents house the only way of getting rid of there Border Collie, James, was by asking him if he wanted to go for a walk.  
Than he would go home and get his lead and come to find us again." Cassie said, looking at us like it was obvious.  
"Your the animal expert," I said, trying to shiffle a giggle but I had a wide grin.  
"The only thing is I need my mobile. Oh dam, I left it in the barn," she look up and found Tobias, than smiled.  
"Tobias, do you think you could do me a favour and go and get me my mobile. Please." she said.  
What am I an Owl now? he said.  
"What?" I said  
Harry Potter. In the series Witches and Wizards use Owls to deliver the post and get things. he replied.  
"What are you doing reading a children's book?"  
Hay, it's the adults that read them on the beach. What else am I spouse to do during my spare time?  
"What spar time? All you do is hunt and eat." I muttered under my breath.  
I heard that, smart ass. he shot back.  
"Just go and get the bloody mobile." I said.  
Where's the mobile? he asked Cassie, ignoring me.  
"On the medi box next to cage two."  
  
So Tobias took wing and within five minutes was back carrying a small dark blue mobile phone in his talons.  
Batter call a little further away so as not to attract any unwanted attention. he said.  
She walked about to the end of the range of the battle field and dialled Erek's phone number and waited for an answer.  
"Hello is this Erek? ... Oh hi Mr King. How are you? ... I'm good. Could you get Erek for me please? ... Thanks," She waited a few seconds,   
"Hi Erek? Thank God, we need your help in the forest ... we need to find a girl and her dog and we were wondering if you could help us find her. I mean you know first aid better than me and I only know animal first aid ... Great meet us here in five no three minutes ... Ok bye." she pressed the disconnect button.  
"Ok he'll be here in less than that time   
"Well what are we going to do? That dog wont even let us near Catherine."  
"How do you know her name?" asked Rachel.  
"I met her this morning at the cafeteria." I replied.  
"I pity her. She could have met a nice, intelligent, hansom, funny, guy, instead she met Marco."  
She than shut up because I threw a dirt clog at her.  
Than at that moment all around us went misty.  
I knew that a hologram had just sounded us and the couplet was Erek.   
He walked toward us as his true form, a metal greyhound that looked like it was walking on it's hind legs, and said:  
"Well let's move her to my house and if your wondering how I know what's happened I could here Marco talking before you rang me."  
"Your hearing isn't that good," I said.  
"No it isn't," than the robot smiled, "but I got the message from a Chee that travelled over in a plane he saw the girl before the fight she was getting the Fox Terrier that chased Marco."  
"Great so the news subject of the Chee tonight will be how Marco the Animorph got chased by a Fox Terrier?"  
"Yep." said Erik.  
So ten minutes later Cassie had the dog restrained with his lead used as a muzzle tied tight enough to keep his mouth together.  
Tobias flew ahead, Erek and I carried Catherine to Erek's house, took her down to the Erek's dog heaven and laid her down near a big Oak tree.  
Cassie released Max and he ran straight to her side and started to sniff to see if those strange people had hurt her in any way than satisfied that his mom was safe he settled himself down to sleep next to his head on her  
stomach.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 5: Catherine.  
  
"Do you realise what you have done?" The boy named Jake said.  
"Yes, but can you please tell me when I'm not confronted by a four-eyed alien, no offence Ax." I said.  
It was the fourth day after I had discovered the alien invasion and I was sitting next to Cassie in her barn and was being delivered a speech by Jake, but he wasn't shouting he was just saying that if I was going to look for a fight to look for one on cable.  
"Look I can't make you do what I want you to, but at least know that we're not playing a computer game the Yerrks will kill you now that your one of us."  
"Hold on, I am not one of you I never have or will be one of you." I said, holding up my hands to prove my point.  
"Well, you will be and I'm sorry but you don't have a choice."  
"Are you threatening me?"   
"No. I not, I'm only you telling it like it is."  
As Jake said that last sentence I could see the impact that this war had had on him and I felt sorry for him.  
He took a deep breath and said.  
"Listen, take a walk and clear your head we'll give you as  
much time as you need, Ok," he said.  
"What choice do I have?" I muttered, walking out of the barn doors.   
I don't remember where I walked to but it was a river.  
I sat down on a rock that stretched over the river it looked a little like pride rock from that movie The Lion King. I just sat and stared into space not thinking at all about the fact that my life was over and there was nothing that I could do about it.  
Max shock me from my daze as he sat and looked at me with eyes that seemed to say "I'm sorry."   
I put my arm around him and wished I was back in Australia.  
I sat there for two hours and talked to Max and listened to the river when Marco was sent came to get me.  
"Well have you decided yet." he said, staying a little away because of Max.  
"What?" I replied  
"To become an Animorph of course?"  
"Oh, you can sit down Max won't hurt you. I think he like's you." I said choosing not to answer his question.  
He sat down and almost immediately Max began to growl.  
"Or maybe not" he said, looking at him with bit of fear in his eye.  
After a few minutes of playing gently with Max's ears I said.  
"Is it worth it?"  
"If you get the great satisfaction of kicking yeerk butt that Rachel does. Yes."  
"Is it fun, you know, morphing into different animals and stuff?"   
"Well, apart from being disgusting sometimes but not really. But going bird is fantastic, not being mean or anything, but ask Tobias sometime, he'll tell you."   
Than it really hit me I was spending the last few minutes of being a normal kid, after this I would never be the same.   
~*~*~  
Are you ready? asked Ax the Andalite.  
"Let'er rip" I said.   
We were back at the barn I was back sitting where was before next to Cassie with Max sitting on the left of me.  
Touch the square nearest to you. he instructed.  
I did as he said and felt a warm painless shock run up my arm.  
It is done. he said.  
I looked around and I sware the group was remembering a past event, one they'd rather forget.  
"Ok what animal?" asked Cassie, breaking the silence and making me jump.   
"What?"  
"Which animal do you want to morph?" said Rachel, folding her arms.  
I looked down at Max who looked up to me and gave a small whine.  
"From what Marco has told me about it. I'd choose the happiest thing on Earth."   
I was going to become my dog.   
I was told to put my hand on Max's head and focus.  
Picture him in your mind. Tobias told me  
"You sure I'm not out of my mind?" I asked, looking up at him as I said it.  
No, he said, laughing in my mind, We've been there, done that.  
Max became very, very quite. I looked into his eye's and saw they were glazed over as through he was in deep thought.   
I took my hand of his head and within ten seconds he was his normal silly self.  
"Ok, now picture becoming him," Cassie said taking his lead.   
"How will I change back?" I said, fearing the answer.   
"Your DNA will change back to human."  
I pulled my selves back and prepared to morph when Ax said:  
What is that on your left wrist?  
I looked at what he was pointing at.  
"Those are scars from when I was little the doctors tried to do a procedure but it didn't so I had to have a Kidney transplant."  
Than a thought struck me.  
"What will happen to my scares when I morph back?"  
"They will be replaced,"  
"I read that your DNA keeps ... It tells your future, you know your job, what you will die of, all that stuff."   
They all looked at me. Confused.  
"I'll shut up and morph."  
I concentrated.   
The first thing that happened was the shrinking, then my bones started to turn into dog's bones.   
My legs and feet stretched and formed into dog legs.   
A tail sprouted and it was a good four centimetres longer because Max had had his tail docked.   
My face bulged and shaped into the Fox Terrier style.   
My ears crawled up my head and became pointed. the last to change was the fur sprouting.  
When the markings had came to place then the dogs mind came I felt a giddy rush like when you go on roller coaster it takes the steepest dive the fastest and you literately feel the G force pull your face back.  
That's what it felt like inside of my mind.  
Scary. Huh?  
"Your done." Jake said.  
"Well, she's taking the instincts well." Commented Cassie.  
Suddenly a rat ran across the floor.  
Then I felt like something jumped out of my mind and made me want to chase the rat. Then I realised what it was: Instinct.   
Max yanked Cassie on her face and we both joined in to catch the rat.  
I was just about to clamp my jaws on the animal when my I realised my mind was screaming.  
Oh my, God what did I just do?  
Max started and looked around to see who had made the unexplainable noise in his head. Cassie took this opportunity to jump and grab his lead she picked him up and sat back down.  
I shook my whole body to try to get rid of the adenine that was in me. When that didn't work I sat in front of Jake as if I waiting for orders, but really I was trying to sort my self out.  
First thing was first, I was Catherine, a human that was a dog at the moment. Secondly, I was a going to help them try to defeat a alien race.  
Thirdly, I had a secret that I couldn't tell any of them.  
O.K. I'll join.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
